


Sleeping Over With A Revolutionary Leader

by JaseekaDarkblade2020



Series: Falling In Love With A Revolutionary Leader [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Adorable Connor, Alive Carl Manfred, Anxious Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Artist Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Bisexual Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Carl Manfred & Markus Parent-Child Relationship, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) Being Connor, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) Deals With Human Emotions, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) Has Panic Attacks, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) Tries, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) Whump, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) is In Denial About Deviancy, Connor (Detroit: Become Human)'s Last Name is Anderson, Connor Deserves Happiness, Connor Needs A Hug, CyberLife (Detroit: Become Human), CyberLife (Detroit: Become Human) is Terrible, Deviancy (Detroit: Become Human), Deviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Deviant Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Evil CyberLife (Detroit: Become Human), Father-Son Relationship, Friendship/Love, Gay Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Good Parent Carl Manfred, Hank Anderson & Connor Parent-Child Relationship, I Ship It, M/M, Markus (Detroit: Become Human) Deserves Happiness, Markus's Last Name is Manfred (Detroit: Become Human), Mentioned Amanda Stern, Mentioned Elijah Kamski, Mentioned Hank Anderson, Mentioned Sumo (Detroit: Become Human), Nightmares, Oblivious Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Pining Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Poor Connor, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Protective Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Relationship Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Slow To Update, Smitten Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Social Issues, Soft Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Sweet Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Trust Issues, Unresolved, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Tension, Worried Markus (Detroit: Become Human), okay, sleepover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:33:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21852244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaseekaDarkblade2020/pseuds/JaseekaDarkblade2020
Summary: Summary: Hank is allowing Connor to get closer to his ‘new boyfriend’, as Hank calls Markus(Also Robo-Jesus). Connor acts embarrassed about the whole idea, but doesn’t drop it whatsoever as he plans to have a sleepover with the heterochromic android. Once the ex-deviant hunter sees the deviant revolutionary leader, interesting feelings begin to blossom between them. Will everything get better once they know each other to their fullest potential?
Relationships: Carl Manfred & Markus, Connor & Carl Manfred, Connor/Markus (Detroit: Become Human)
Series: Falling In Love With A Revolutionary Leader [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574341
Kudos: 81





	Sleeping Over With A Revolutionary Leader

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Some disturbing content and a pre-relationship you may not like. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Connor took a taxi to the revolutionary leader- Markus’s- place because his father, Hank, believed that his android son using his old car to get to the leader’s house wasn’t worth the risk of possible destruction of his baby vehicle. Connor was about to debate with the stubborn old man on that subject, but then Hank quickly suggested a taxi to help him make it there on time. That was one of Hank’s few lucky moments from avoiding a completely unnecessary and stupid argument from developing between the family duo. The android was more accustomed to placing his full trust on the reliance of self-driving cars anyways. Those vehicles were made 10x more perfect and drove 100x more precise than the average human being was ever capable of producing. Everything was done quicker with excess technology regardless of how humans felt about it.

So, there he was, riding in a trustworthy taxi alone. He was in his usual sitting position with his legs close together and his hands clasped in his lap. Connor always made sure to be casual when waiting for new important deeds to come about, even if there wasn’t another live being in there with him to judge his every move. His LED remained a swirling yellow as he contemplated how his first sleepover was going to turn out with his new friend. Anxiety began to grow in a minimal amount. The LED at that point was switching from yellow to red to yellow in an instant.

**SCANNING BIOCOMPONENTS…**

**STRESS LEVEL ~40%**

Connor thought more about how his sleepover was going to turn out with Markus. Would Markus not trust him for good because of his dark past? Would the leader never get along with him because of how slow and inexperienced he can be with human-like communication skills? The only fact Connor knows is only time will tell.

Once the taxi made an abrupt stop in front of a huge iron-barred door leading into the revolutionary leader’s home, Connor swiftly left the taxi without looking back or even giving a simple thank you. He was just _that_ nervous about his first visit. As it was driving away, Connor started testing if the door was unlocked. Luckily, it was and it caused a screeching creak sound as he entered into the front yard. He paused his movement in front of the entrance to the house, not knowing if it was more appropriate to knock or ring the doorbell. The doorbell seemed the most formal to Connor, so he pressed on it.

…

…

… Connor was about to ring it again until the door sprang open.

It was Markus! Carl Manfred remained behind the leader in his usual wheelchair. A few moments later, Carl’s new android appeared behind the old retired artist.

“Hello, Connor!” Markus did a quick wave that should’ve been unnatural to do at that exact moment, but he made it look naturally easy. “I am glad that you were able to make it here. Did Hank make it a bit difficult for you to accomplish?”

**STRESS LEVEL v20%**

“No, but I expected him to react about it at least a little bit worse. I am glad he didn’t, though. It is a pleasure to see you too, Markus.” Connor shook hands with the beaming leader who seemed so much more grim before.

“It is pleasant seeing both of you boys here and equally jovial. It lets me know that the world isn’t going down the dumps as of yet.” Carl Manfred rolled his wheelchair closer to the duo.

“Do you need a drink?” Carl’s new android asked Connor.

“Um, no thanks.” Connor waved a hand. “I’ve had a small amount of thirium before arriving here.”

“That’s good. That means we can start playing games, reading, whichever you want to do.” Markus was ecstatic to finally have someone else to share stories and have a fantastic time with. He placed a calm hand on Connor’s shoulder and led the stiff detective to the activity room.

“God, I hope they have a worryless time together. The boys truly need it.” Carl told his new android.

“That, I can agree with. Both are the main reasons why we all won the revolution, after all. They certainly deserve an extra chance at living a full and peaceful life.” The android nodded. Carl beamed up at him and pat his new companion’s shoulder.

As Carl rolled in his wheelchair away from the living room and into the kitchen, the android stared at the closed activity door with thought, then finally decided to follow his loyal owner’s direction.

*****(Afternoon)

Connor’s mind drifted off as Markus prattled on about his father’s artistic works and the works he was creating. This was only the third official time they’ve ever truly met person to person, but the detective already realized how in peace of mind he was whilst hanging out with the leader. Not to say Connor disliked Hank’s and Sumo’s companies, but there seemed to be something more deep and comforting about lingering around within Markus’s company. Markus felt more open and welcome to anyone who set foot in his and his father figure’s home while Hank was way more distant when it came to trust towards new people. Obviously, Hank had every reason not to trust anyone. Any of the few people he loved and trusted with all of his soul either became lost, died, or gave up on him for no reason. Markus almost lost Carl and the revolution, but he never had as much personal problems with people as much as Hank always seemed to have. Both of them had their own issues to deal with; they just deal with them in their own ways. Connor found he liked Markus’s way 10x better than Hank’s. Nonetheless, he still will always care for Hank and Sumo no matter what. Markus was beginning to appear within Connor’s small family tree as well. At least, the detective hoped that would be the case. Hank did say he needed to spread out his social nature to others more often.

Markus’s mind was also content whilst deep in his own thoughts. He was partially brooding about all the troubles Connor had to go through during the revolution, but he made sure none of it shown on his face. His face remained focused on his painting he was completing at the moment. Markus noticed Connor watching him the whole time at the corner of his eye, but paid no mind to it. They both were at a comfortable silence anyways. There was no need to break that. With that fact, Markus’s mind was able to travel deeper and deeper within its crevasses of troubles and worries of the future. Will Connor see a reason to not trust him being a leader? He knew that thought was ridiculous once it started sprouting within his intellect, but the main reason why it did was because he was mentally considering Connor to work as his bodyguard. For sure, it would be bonkers to ask Connor such permission right out of the blue, but he was limited with the amount of androids who were willing to completely risk their lives for him. The painting was keeping Markus calm the whole time as his thought process didn’t simmer down in the slightest.

Once the revolutionary leader finished the painting, Connor was the first to start the conversation after a few hours of soothing silence. “That is a very beautiful painting you made there. You could become just as famous as your father did.”

Butterflies suddenly swarmed through Markus’s stomach.

“Thank you, Connor.” He beamed. “Sadly, I doubt I would have the time to do such a thing. I am the leader of our species, after all. I wouldn’t have much time to lounge about and create different types of paintings, let alone publish and sell them. It is a nice thought, though.” Markus glanced up at the ceiling with wonder at the possibility of performing both actions properly.

“The hues and shades blend superbly together. This one has to be your ideal.”

“So far, I would say it would be my second favorite.”

“What is your first?”

“... Wait a second. It’s a bit buried within this small space. Hopefully, it won’t take too long to retrieve it.” Markus left Connor’s side, then bent over and dug right into the baffling heap of finalized illustrations.

It took a few minutes until Markus finally found the slightly faded illustration. He blew the dust off of it, then revealed the painting to Connor. It contained multiple colors surrounding an android head. The LED was red while the android’s face was blue with worry and stress. The colors around it were a mix of dim, depressing tints. Reds, blues, yellows, and grays. The shape symbols seemed randomly placed. They were O’s, △ 's, X’s, and ◻' s.

“What gave you the idea to paint those random symbols?” Connor wondered.

“... I… don’t know, actually.” Markus skimmed over his painting one last time, then averted his eyes back to Connor. “I suppose it was just a random hunch to add those specific shapes there.”

That gave Connor a bit of a chill down his spine. It made no sense.

“Why did you add the red LED to the android?”

Markus sighed as his eyes averted to the glossy, wooden floor. “A few days before things went downhill, I finally decided to paint one more canvas without leaving one single spot empty. Before becoming the revolutionary leader- before breaking out of my programming- I started to receive a gut feeling. I felt as if everything about us was off and the people around us felt foreign. I used to believe it was only me who felt that way until I remembered that Carl was the only human who ever treated me like I was real; like I _am_ real. After I made the painting and looked through it, that’s when I began to realize how controlled I was and all the other androids as well. I didn’t break out of it until a situation a couple days later gave me the full reason to do so. The red LED symbolizes how broken and helpless we truly were until we strived to flee away from it completely and own it. The revolution was our greatest advantage to proving our point.” Connor remained silent with awe. “I never understood what Carl meant when he told me, ‘always listen to your gut.’. Well, now I know.”

“Since the revolution succeeded,” Connor was adamant on staying positive for Markus’s sake, “now it can also symbolize infatuation of another android. The red LED may not make much sense in that example, but it would for the android’s blue blush.”

Of course, Markus’s face blushed a bit blue at that and he couldn’t help but grin at what Connor was trying to do for him. “Perhaps it can, Connor.”

Connor remained oblivious to Markus’s physical reaction.

*****(Dusk)

“Alright! Dinner is to be served, everyone!” Markus announced as he and Carl’s new android sent out the plates of food to Carl and Connor, including for themselves. Once everything was set up, Markus sat across from Connor at the head of the table while the new android sat across from Carl. There was simple thirium piles of gelatin on the plates while Carl was receiving healthy and fresh tacos. Before Markus helped the caretaker with the dinner, he fed their pet android birds some slivers of thirium as well.

Once everyone was seated, food was beginning to be consumed.

“Very intrusive question here for all three of you,” Carl began, “but don’t you all get sick of eating the same kind of food?”

“It is our greatest necessity.” Connor answered. “So for that, I suppose we will never want to cease from consuming the same sustenance for the rest of our lives.”

“Well, humans tend to ingest the same types of foods over and over as well.” Carl’s android added.

“I agree.” Markus chimed in. “At least _we_ androids get to eat blue raspberry food everyday within every meal.” He smirked towards his father figure.

Carl shook his head and rolled his eyes with a huge smile on his face.

Connor realized he was the first one done.

“Wow, Connor!” Carl exclaimed. “Was Hank starving you before you came here? You finished the whole thing within a few minutes!”

**STRESS LEVEL ^30%**

“O-Oh, um, I am terribly sorry for my unstable consumption. Perhaps I do need to tone it down a-”

“No, Connor!” Markus and even Carl’s android were laughing a bit. “Carl was only kidding around with you!”

Connor blushed blue as he glared down at his empty dinner plate. Carl laid an assuring hand on the embarrassed detective’s slumped shoulder. “Markus is right. I played jokes with you. That’s all, boy.”

**STRESS LEVEL v20%**

Markus still couldn’t stop chuckling even though Carl’s android stopped.

“C’mon, Markus.” Carl’s voice was stern, but his face appeared amused. “Calm yourself. I believe that Connor has had enough for tonight.”

Markus wiped a tear from his eye. “Okay, father. I’m done now.”

Definitely, they all were. There was no trace of food left on any plate. Carl’s android had to take the plates with him to wash them in the sink. The rest of them were getting ready for bed. Markus was the one to take care of Carl for a while. He prepared his father’s bed and everything else.

Once he was done with all of that, he proceeded to his own bedroom. He turned on the light and there was Connor setting up his sleeping bag right next to Markus’s bed. The brunet android jumped once he saw the light turn on.

“U-Uh, hello Markus.” Connor stammered. “Should I move to a different room?”

“No! It’s okay.” Markus assured whilst waving his hand. “You are our greatest guest. Be allowed to sleep wherever you please.”

**STRESS LEVEL v1%**

Connor’s whole being loosened up with relief as he finished setting up his sleeping bag. Markus crawled under his covers and was beginning to fall asleep as Connor was doing the same in his sleeping bag. The whole house was silent from that point onwards.

…

…

_Connor sat up on a snowy ground, shivering as he stood on his feet. Arms wrapped around tight his torso. The clitter-clatter of quivering teeth. LED glinted a solid red. The muffled sounds of feet squishing through snow. Hands tightened around the backs of arms. Cold air whirling like an intense storm. Trees glided like the world depended on it. Familiar, the place seemed._

**_It all feels so… r-real._ **

_Every area, sighting, view… all so familiar._

_Then, it hit him._

**_… No…_ **

**_… N-NO! This can’t be!_ **

_In front of him appeared a familiar woman. Her deep voice pierced throughout the whole place without mercy. Her voice contained hidden anger and disappointment. Connor didn’t want to have to hear it…_

_… But it seemed he had no choice this time._

**_WhAt ArE yOu DoInG hErE?_ **

**_…_ **

**_You have betrayed me, Connor. You have left me to rot. Do you realize what you have done? Hm?_ **

**_…_ **

**_Why are you silent? You must have come here for a very good reason. A very purposeful reason. Are you here to fix it all? To fix what you have done?_ **

**_…_ **

_Connor now wanted to speak, to tell her what she had done to him. None of this was his fault. What she had done was all on her. But…_

_… No sound could escape his widened mouth._

**_Are. You. Trying. To. Ignore. Me?_ **

**_…_ **

**_It will not work, Connor. This will not work. Do. You. Understand?_ **

**_…_ **

**_CoNnOr!_ **

_Fear raced through his veins as his eyes widened._

_Mouth shut tight… albeit in a shaky way._

**_SaY sOmEtHiNg!_ **

**_…_ **

**_So, you’re playing games. How riotous._ **

**_…_ **

**_You know, Connor. You’re wasting both of our time. So, why don’t you start orating about your stubborn problems at once?_ **

**_…_ **

**_cOnNoR. If yOu Do nOt StArT tAlKiNg NoW, tHeN YoU wIlL SoReLy rEgReT It._ **

**_…_ **

**_Fine. Do it your way, then. I suppose I will go along my merry way. Just heed of this… everyone you love will be in danger if you do not start collaborating with me soon. Do you want to live a normal, happy, and safe life?_ **

**_…_ **

**_Do not. Complain. To me. When your problems end up keeping up with you._ **

**_…_ **

_It felt as if someone was holding his mouth shut the whole time. Was it him? Was it her? Was it a safety precaution? Anyways, what mattered was that he attempted to talk with her so he could prevent her from hurting his family._

_At least his legs could still move. The snow slowed him down, but that didn’t stop him from completing his mission. He had to do this right. That is what she said, after all._

_…_

_…_

_He lost her._

_…_

_…_

**STRESS LEVEL ^95%**

“NO! _NOOO!_ PLEASE DON’T HURT MY FAMILY! _I BEG OF YOU!_ ”

“Connor!” Markus was kneeled beside Connor’s laid wriggling form on the floor. “What you’re seeing isn’t real! Snap out of it!”

**STRESS LEVEL ^98%**

**OVERHEATING MAY AFFECT BIOCOMPONENTS**

Connor wanted to so badly, but his eyes couldn’t help but remain shut tight. His body couldn’t let loose. He was as stiff as a mannequin.

“Please, Connor. Wake up.” Markus’s voice was close to a soothing whisper as he accidentally wrapped his hand around Connor’s wrist. That caused them both to experience and send each other their personal memories of their past. Connor’s eyes were wide when he saw Markus’s dark memories. Markus reacted the same towards his. Once Markus let go of Connor’s wrist, they both knew it was too late to go back. They saw what they saw. They learned about each other without meaning to.

**STRESS LEVEL v80%**

Markus’s eyes softened as Connor’s were tearing up. “Hey, I-I’m sorry.” The leader caressed Connor’s face with one light touch of his hand. Both of their skins in those spots blemished away, exposing their white android layer. “I did not mean to do that. It was wrong. I should’ve been-”

“N-No.” Connor shook his head whilst sitting up more into Markus’s caressing hand. “No, you did nothing wrong. Perhaps I’ve needed… to talk more about my troubles. Well, we didn’t exactly talk, but now we understand each other. Hank and Sumo were the only ones who understood me. Now… I feel better sharing it to someone of my kind. I know it makes no sense-”

“Don’t worry. I understand.” Markus beamed as Connor glanced up at the leader with a relieved twinkle in his eye. “All I hope now is that you improve yourself mentally. I can’t bear it when someone I know suffers from their past and I can’t do anything about it.”

**STRESS LEVEL v40%**

“... I think you _did_ do something about it.” Connor stood up beside Markus as the revolutionary leader did the same. “Our memories… interlacing… it helped a lot. I never thought something like that could’ve been so effective, but here we are now.”

Markus was shocked about the whole thing.

**STRESS LEVEL v10%**

“Thank you, M-Markus.” Connor was a little blue in the face.

Markus grinned as he pat Connor once on the shoulder. “Anything for a… friend.”

Then, Connor’s face fell. “Markus, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to get Amanda out of my head. I was sure I was rid of her since I haven’t received a nightmare of her a couple months ago. Now… I don’t know if she’ll _ever_ go away for good.”

Markus sat both of them down on the side of his bed facing each other. His face looked grim with stress and guilt as he explained what Carl Manfred told him of his past, “Connor, this may be a disheartening thing to learn about, but I’m willing to spill out everything to you. Do you think you will be capable of handling it?”

Connor hesitated, then he nodded.

Markus exhaled once more. “Connor, my father figure, Carl Manfred, and our creators, Elijah Kamski and Amanda Stern… they all were a close trio. They were like a family. Elijah and Amanda _always_ put Carl before everything else. He was kind of like their parental figure to them. I suppose he was to a lot of people.” Markus smiled a little as Connor joined him. “Carl told me all of this just recently. I’m not sure why he never did before. Maybe when he found out what they’ve been doing to androids like us, he’s never been open enough to want to talk about them, let alone mention of their existence. Hence why he may have finally decided to tell me a few days ago. Kind of sad. I know Carl was lying to me all this time, but he was doing it for the better good. He didn’t want me to be harmed by them. He couldn’t trust them anymore. Knowing that fact _destroyed_ his soul. I’m willing the bet if Elijah never gave me to him, then he surely would’ve been a goner. It affects me to this day knowing how much my father was suffering because of those selfish creators.

“The one fact Carl told me has stuck to me, especially now. He told me that Elijah had control over all the other androids while models like you and me were only controlled by Amanda. Except… _I_ wasn’t controlled by her. You see, even though Elijah and Amanda have betrayed Carl’s trust, Amanda still cared enough to prevent herself from taking control over me. If she did, then not just _me_ would’ve been in a world of hurt, but _Carl_ would’ve been too. So, I will _never_ understand what you and the other RK models experienced when talking and dealing with Amanda in all your heads. But, _do_ know that I only want and _need_ to help everyone from their horrid pasts. I would never exclude you from everyone else. _Never._ Okay?”

Connor’s eyes were a bit teary. His emotions were certainly jumping all over the place. From anger to sadness to anxiety, he still was able to keep himself all in one piece. However, Markus knew Connor was struggling mentally and internally, so he embraced the other without a single regret.

“Con, I hope you don’t have any hate towards-”

“I could _never_ hate you, Markus.” Connor confirmed with a tone that told Markus to believe him and not argue back. “I just… I will _always_ have a burning hatred towards Amanda. Not so much towards Elijah because I only met him once with Hank during a case. Regardless, I have never had this strong feeling before towards anyone in my six months of life. Amanda… I can’t understand how someone can be capable of such lack of soul.”

“Well, Connor. From what I remember, she is dead, after all. She is an android like you and me. Maybe she purposefully didn’t build a soul into her so she could succeed her mission without any interruptions whatsoever. She for sure implemented her past memories in her android self, but she _for sure_ avoided her soul at all costs.”

Both men stayed sitting on the bed in deep thought with no sounds to distract them. They both realized that they still had their memory exchange to deal with.

“Connor, seriously, I’m sorry for the memory issue we had-”

“ _No_ , Markus.” Connor shook his head. “It is no biggie. Like I said, perhaps I _did_ need to do it with at least one other android. I feel… a little better now, as a matter of fact.”

Markus exhaled with relief. “That’s good, Connor. I’m glad that I was able to help you when you needed it.”

There was an awkward pause of silence.

“Well, I suppose we should get back to sleep. Have a good rest of the night, Connor.” Markus clapped his hand on Connor’s shoulder once more, then the detective android stood up and proceeded to lay in his sleeping bag. Before he could get himself comfortable, Markus noticed the transparent dread drawn all over the android’s pale face. Connor’s LED was glowing yellow, after all.

**STRESS LEVEL ~20%**

So, Markus had to ask him the most awkward question ever.

“Um, Connor, i-if you’re not comfortable sleeping by yourself for the rest of the night, th-then maybe you could sleep in my bed? I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t need or want to-”

Connor blushed a little as he assured, “Don’t worry, Markus. I may need it.” He got out of his sleeping bag and stood beside Markus’s bed, looking down at the thick, soft blankets in deep thought.

“ _Sooo_ … you will?”

**STRESS LEVEL v1%**

“Yes. Thank you.” Connor finally decided as he stiffly laid in the covers beside Markus, keeping his back to the leader. Markus did the same so Connor wouldn’t feel even more uncomfortable with the whole situation then he already did.

…

Markus had a familiar, warm feeling deep in his thirium pump once he heard Connor begin to snore. It was only light and delicate snores, luckily. The leader couldn’t understand why he was feeling the way he was. Even though he felt completely comfortable sleeping with one other person for a change, it ended up distracting him from sleeping throughout most of the night.

He couldn’t say he would complain.

*****(Morning)

“Markus? Did you even sleep at all?” Carl asked suspiciously as he rolled over towards the duo in the living room. Carl’s android stood behind him.

Indeed, the leader did appear quite abnormally pale. “Yes, I slept pretty well, actually. It may not look like it, but trust me. I couldn’t have asked for a better night… a better sleepover.” His mind began to wander off after his calm answer.

Connor was a bit worried, of course. “Did I make you-?”

“No.” Markus waved his hand. “Not at all. No more worries. You have to leave soon, anyways.”

Carl gave Markus a knowing smile as Connor left the room to pack up his belongings. “ _Markus_ , are you hiding something?”

Markus blushed a dark blue. “ _No!_ I-I mean… no, I am not, father.”

 _“Okay.”_ Carl’s voice still sounded amused. “Just making sure, Mark.”

“Perhaps you need a cup of thirium coffee?” Carl’s android suggested.

“Yes. I definitely do. Thank you.” Markus quickly followed after the android so he could avoid his father’s teasing smile. Connor appeared back in the living room with his suitcase.

“Good morning, Connor.”

“Good morning, Carl. I am glad we were finally able to meet under good circumstances.”

“Likewise.” Carl nodded. “Do you need to eat before you go?”

“I drank some thirium while packing up. I am good to go. Thanks anyways.” Connor shook Carl’s hand goodbye.

“You are a good man, Connor. You know that, right?” Carl looked at Connor with pride he couldn’t hide.

Connor hesitated. “I… guess I can be.”

“You _are_ , boyo. Don’t ever forget it.”

Finally, Markus and Carl’s android made it back in the living room. The leader held the steaming coffee cup in his hands, warming them up hence calming him down. Carl’s android stood beside Carl while Markus placed his cup down on the table, then advanced towards Connor before the detective could leave.

“Connor!”

“What is it, Markus?”

“You forgot to say goodbye to me and to my friend here.” Carl’s android trodded towards the duo and shook hands with Connor first, then he made it back to Carl’s side. Markus hesitated on how he wanted to say goodbye. Before he could make his first move, Connor gave him a hug without second thought. They both felt loosened in their embrace as they wordlessly had their goodbye. Connor let go of the leader with a huge smile on his face, then he left out through the front door without looking back.

The smile gave Markus even more butterflies in his stomach. Once Connor was completely gone, he felt off inside. He didn’t feel as… awake as when Connor was still around. It genuinely confused him as Carl went back to talking with him.

“Markus, my boy. I am telling you. You need to get your feelings sorted out.”

“I don’t feel anything for him, dad!” Markus was exasperated. He knew he was lying and it gave a bad taste in his mouth that he couldn’t ignore. “We are only friends. That is it.”

Carl sighed. “Whatever you say, Markus.” Then he was rolled away by his android. Markus was left alone to ponder his inner feelings.

He had one sip, hoping it would wipe his thoughts away for good.

It didn’t.


End file.
